OFF: Monster Magnet

[Stephen Swann]

Ted Jackson jr. s2h2 writes:
> Powertrip is the only MM disc I have, but I really like it!  Crop
> Cirlce is a great tune.  Since I'm not a HW fan, I can't say if MM
> would appeal, but it certainly strikes a chord with the BOC fan in
> me.  REgarding Wyndof's ego, the Guitar World feature last month
> talks a lot about how the band was almost starving, with everyone but
> Wyndorf having to work day jobs to get by.  DAve made it clear that
> Powertrip was a calculated effort to achieve some commercial success,
> but he was definitely going for the rock star trip at the same time.
> It's a great article, BTW...

There were plenty of "marketable" songs on _Superjudge_.  I think he
could have kept writing that kind of monstrously heavy stuff, *and*
been commercially successful.  With MTV videos for "Cyclops
Revolution", "Cage Around the Sun", and "Black Balloon", I think they
could have been as popular as Soundgarden and White Zombie.

The story I heard was that the "other" MM guitarist (the one who left,
and is now hanging out with Josh Homme doing Desert Sessions stuff)
was the guy who was responsible for the "Monster Magnet sound" on
Spine of God and Superjudge (although he may already have been gone
when they cut that album, his influence was there), and that Dave
Wyndorff just wanted to be a big rock star.  I have no way of knowing
how true this might be, and I sort of scoffed at it at the time, but
events seem to have borne out the theory.

I can't listen to the last 2 MM albums, they sound too canned for me.
On the other hand, Spine of God is one of my favorite albums of all
time, and Superjudge has many of my favorite songs.

Steve
swann at plutonia.com